Kwantlen Polytechnic University is serving up exciting news for beer lovers.

The institute is launching a two-year diploma in brewing and brewery operations beginning in September 2014.

The first brewing program in B.C will provide students with hands-on experience using the Langley campus’s specially designed brew laboratory. The lab is currently in development, but it will allow the selected 35 students to brew batches from scratch.

“We found out from our advisory committee that there’s a big need for people who have training,” said Michelle Molnar, the dean’s assistant for the faculty of science and horticulture.

British Columbia has 72 breweries, second only to Ontario, according to a study commissioned by Beer Canada.

“A lot of (brewers) said, ‘people are interested in working for us but they don’t have any schooling and they don’t have any formal training,’ and that’s what we’re trying to provide.”

There will be an option to bridge the diploma into a science, trade or business degree. Also, after the first year of the program, students will fulfill a work placement requirement.